# Do I need a humidor?



## Breakaway500 (May 7, 2010)

I have my smokes in a large sealed gunsafe that stays between 60-65 degrees and is always <40% humitidy. I have been leaving them in the wrappers,on the top shelf. Everything seems fine...but I am reading a lot about humidors and am wondering if I may be mistreating my little friends. I could get a 100ct humidor and place it in the safe...should I take them out of their individual wrappers if I do? What is the ideal humidity to store them? Thanks.


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## thegoldenmackid (Mar 16, 2010)

The RH is way too low. You may just need a tuperware and some beads.


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## kRaZe15 (Jan 25, 2010)

you can always use a tupperdor with a humi pack or something to help keep your smoke between 62-70% rh if you have the money a humi is great. always respect your smokes and take care of them and they will take care of you. either way will be fine it's all up to you. good luck and have fun with it.


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## SmoknTaz (Jun 18, 2008)

Breakaway500 said:


> I have my smokes in a large sealed gunsafe that stays between 60-60 degrees and is always <40% humitidy. I have been leaving them in the wrappers,on the top shelf. Everything seems fine...but I am reading a lot about humidors and am wondering if I may be mistreating my little friends. I could get a 100ct humidor and place it in the safe...should I take them out of their individual wrappers if I do? What is the ideal humidity to store them? Thanks.


Yes you do! Use a tupperware container as suggested.


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## ss.sav (May 10, 2010)

You want to keep your cigars at 70ish% humidity so if you can up the safe to that cool although i dont know how that would affect other things in the safe.


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## smokeymedic (May 11, 2010)

Best would be to get a humidor, but if you want to save money it's really easy to construct a cheap hume for under 20 dollars. All you need is a tupperware container, some humidification beads, a sponge, and distilled water. The temperature of your safe is fine but the humidification % is way too low; your cigars will dry out and lose their flavor.


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## BDSmith (May 8, 2010)

Yeah, I'd definitely get some sort of humidor or tuperdor. They need to be separate from the guns as 70% humidity isn't going to treat your guns nice unless they are well oiled. Then I'd be worried about the oil smell making it's way into my cigars.


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## Breakaway500 (May 7, 2010)

I was thinking an inexpensive (<$100)100ct humidor placed in the safe should be fine,right? The humidor is sealed,so the humidity in the box won't affect the firearms.There is no smell in the safe. How about the individual wrappers....do I remove the cigars from their snug little bags? They are hand rolled and some are individually bagged when I get them.


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## kRaZe15 (Jan 25, 2010)

What type of bags? If it's the cellophane it is completely up to you. I personally leave the cello on my smokes but I know there are folks here who prefer their sticks to be naked. As for the humi check out cheaphumidors.com they have great deals especially the imperfects. Now go hunting and enjoy your new found knowledge.


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## BDSmith (May 8, 2010)

I'd think you'd be okay, yeah. 

There is much talk about the individual wrappers being on or off and what's the best practice. Personally, I take them out, but cigars are stored both ways for long periods of time with no problems. In my mind, I'm *sure* storing them with no plastic is fine.


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## thegoldenmackid (Mar 16, 2010)

kRaZe15 said:


> What type of bags? If it's the cellophane it is completely up to you. I personally leave the cello on my smokes but I know there are folks here who prefer their sticks to be naked. As for the humi check out cheaphumidors.com they have great deals especially the imperfects. Now go hunting and enjoy your new found knowledge.


One huge +1.

1. I keep the cellos on for a variety of reasons. Transport being the biggest of reasons.
2. cheaphumidors is a great place to check out. Didn't end up ordering, but they have great customer service.


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## Magnate (Nov 27, 2009)

Don't miss the Puff members coupon from CheapHumidors.com... and yeah, everyone here that has dealt with them has been very happy. Sam, "CheapHumidors", is a member of this site and takes good care of us. And our llama's 
:llama:


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## Herf N Turf (Dec 31, 2008)

The thing that's saving you from the disaster that is storing cigars at 40% rh, is that gun safe. It's keeping things cool enough such that the loss of moisture is slowed tremendously. After a period of time however, the cigars will dry out and become harsh and flavorless. You need to act.

Do you need to buy a humi? Should you remove the cellophane? It depends. How many cigars are we talking about and how long do you intend on having the average cigar laying around? If you're talking relatively few cigars and relatively (<2yrs) short periods, you don't need a humidor and you should remove the cellophane. 

The tupperware suggestion is a sound one and cheap. You will need to harvest a small amount of spanish cedar to put inside as a humidity buffer and even without any source of humidification, the sealed tupperware will keep cigars sufficiently moist indefinitely. If you want to hedge your bets, you could toss in a Boveda packet, or even a small tube of Heartfelt Humidity beads.

In terms what is the ideal storage condition, it is generally accepted that 70rh and 70*F is ideal. It might be ideal for preservation, but it's hardly ideal for smoking. The best compromise is 65% rh and a temperature range of roughly 58-76*F. You can go lower and even slightly higher, but the idea is to avoid rapid swings.

There's alot more to this, but hopefully, this will answer your immediate concerns and get you started.


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## Elwin (Mar 7, 2010)

Breakaway500 said:


> I was thinking an inexpensive (<$100)100ct humidor placed in the safe should be fine,right? The humidor is sealed,so the humidity in the box won't affect the firearms.There is no smell in the safe. How about the individual wrappers....do I remove the cigars from their snug little bags? They are hand rolled and some are individually bagged when I get them.


Do you mean a cellophane wrapper, or those little zip-lock bags that cigar stores sometimes package them in?

If it's the latter, take them out of the "bag" before placing them in your humidor.


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## Breakaway500 (May 7, 2010)

The wrappers I am referring to are the celophane "condoms" that are on each one. I have about 100 stored and smoke about one a day,replacing them when I get to around 50 left..or, if I see a deal I can't refuse. I just ordered 50 that I really like and were from a "misplaced" batch from the manufacturer. They are SO good,I didn't want to risk not having one to smoke,seeing as I am a newbie and don't have a lot of choices to draw from. Thanks for all the help. I did check out cheaphumidors and found one I like,but where is the Puff member coupon?


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## Dave.73 (Mar 25, 2010)

I personally take the cello off when storing in my humi but I find that many like to leave it on. I guess it comes down to personal preference. As far as the humidor I'd definitely get those sticks out of the gun safe and into a tuperdor or like most have suggested a humidor. Got my humi from cheaphumidors and am more then satisfied with it. Sam takes good care of us and I'd say you can't go wrong there. Good luck.


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## pomorider (Nov 14, 2009)

I would quickly store those cigars in a tupperware with a few water and 2 Boveda Humidity Packets with a few strips of spanish cedar. Use only Distilled water.

btw, what kind of cigar do u smoke??


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## Breakaway500 (May 7, 2010)

I like the Conneticuit Valley Tobacconists house cigars,called the Tobacconists choice. They are a very nice tasting every day smoke and burn well.Satisfying and not overly strong,but miles above anything I have tried from a grocery store. I also have been smoking the Old Powder Keg Coronas,Colonels reserve batch..which have a LOT more kick,even in the small size.Very peppery and sharp,not bitter or dirty wth the best draw I have experienced. They are all in the 3-5 dollar range and the store is local. I am going to try some Fuentes Hemmengways next week..based on some opinions I found here. Where do I find the Puffer member coupon for the cheaphumidors site?


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## moznmar (Sep 4, 2007)

Breakaway500 said:


> I did check out cheaphumidors and found one I like,but where is the Puff member coupon?


I'm not sure about the Puff member coupon, but this one should get you 10% off.

_KOMP-QSA1HQ_


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## Breakaway500 (May 7, 2010)

Thanks,Monzmar,that worked! My humidor is on the way..plus some smokes..I'm trying some Cohiba Blacks..just couldn't resist...:cowboyic9:


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## Omahaboy (Apr 20, 2010)

welcome to the slope my friend! i just recieved my imperfect humidor last week and i for the life of me can not find the flaw! I think you will be happy. dont use the seasoning instructions they give you. go to herf's sticky on seasoning. it helped tremendously after 2 days of the shot glass and barely any results. Best of luck brother.


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## JustOneMoreStick (Sep 21, 2009)

First off keeping the cigars in the gun safe is a good idea to keep the wife out of your stash but I would look at lowering your humidity in the safe for the sake of your guns. Then getting yourself a small humidor for your smokes and properly storing them in it seems like the better way to care for your investment.


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

What Don said ( Herf ) makes my posts so much shorter.


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## GritsAndMolasses (Apr 17, 2010)

Awesome! Humi's are too cheap and readily available to not have one when considering any kind of extended, static storage for your smokes IMHO. My humi stores about 40 sticks and I paid $29.99 for it at a local, massive B&M called Cuban Crafters. I then invested a few extra bucks in a digital hygrometer and calibrated the analog one that the humi came with. They always read within 2 percentage points of each other (obviously the analog one fluctuates more). I couldn't be happier, and I'm sure you'll be very satisfied, because cheaphumidors has some high quality stuff! Enjoy, and welcome to the slope :biggrin:


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## e-man (Jan 5, 2009)

My gun safe smells like gun oil, but I guess that is more dependent on what you keep in your safe. I would be concerned about that smell infusing into my smokes.

Another concern is that you need to keep your cigars moist, while lots of people put desiccant into a gun safe to keep it as dry as possible. It doesn't really seem well suited to be a dual purpose container. Again, that depends on what you keep inside.


If I had it all to do again, I wouldn't buy a desktop humidor again. A cheap humidor isn't anything special. High quality humidors are virtually cost prohibitive. Whereas, Coolers/tupperware/zip-locks are cheap, have air tight seals, season quickly, and run steady. Ask yourself how much aesthetics really matter. I'm guessing you don't really care how it looks since you keep it in the safe.

I started with a $300, limited edition, NUMBERED, H. Upmann, 200 ct desktop humidor. I know I took it to an extreme, but I got pushed down the slope by some older boys who said it would make me cool. It's beautifully finished and made of solid cedar planks. However, after the first year I was running out of space and wasn't willing (allowed) to spend another $300 for a similar unit. I dug out an old cooler I had laying around and got it setup for under $20. It runs much more stable than the desktop unit, which shifts rH with the seasons. 

At the very least, put them in a zip lock bag or tupperware with some sort of humidification (beads, boveda, gel, etc) or else you will loose a lot of flavor and will burn WAY too hot. You should be OK putting a sealed container inside the safe.


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